Syllabi
JEWISH WOMEN IN AMERICA: A HISTORY
Prof. Hasia Diner
New York University
This class explores the experiences of Jewish women over the course of three centuries of Jewish communal existence in America. It will examine how Jewish women have had a history that makes their experiences unique when compared to Jewish women elsewhere, to other American women, and Jewish men. The course as such asserts—and questions the premise—that Jewish women in America had a distinctive history, worthy of analysis in its own terms. That history includes the role of Jewish women in building Jewish communal institutions in America, their participation in the immigration process, their impact upon their families, and the ways in which they engaged with the larger American public. The course, which will fit under the rubric of social history, will balance the lived experiences of Jewish women in America with the expectations which limited or enabled them to take advantage of American opportunities.
READINGS:
Diner, Hasia and Benderly, Beryl, Her Works Praise Her: Jewish Women in America from Colonial Times to the Present (text to be read throughout the course)
Goldman, Karla, Beyond the Synagogue Gallery
Nadell, Pamela, ed., American Jewish Women’s History
Malkiel, Theresa, The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker
Yezierska, Anzia, Hungry Hearts
Cohen, Rose, Out of the Shadows
Fishman, Sylvia Barack, A Breath of Fresh Air
Davidman, Lynn, Tradition in a Rootless World
Schedule of Classes:
Week 1: Women and the Jewish Tradition: Jewish Women Before America
Week 2: Jewish Women in the Early American Jewish Communities
[Diner and Benderly, NEED PAGES, Nadell, Part I, articles 1]
Week 3: Ante-Bellum Opportunities: Education and Community Work for Jewish Women
[Diner and Benderly, NEED PAGEs; Nadell, Part I, article 2]
Week 4: Jewish Women and the First Mass Migration, 1820-1870
[Diner and Benderly, NEED PAGES]
Week 5: Women and the Rise of Reform
[Goldman]
Week 6: The “Great Migration”: Jewish Women and Gender Matters, 1870-1924
[Cohen; Diner and Benderly]
Week 7: Immigrant Jewish Women and the World of Work
[Malike.; Nadell, Part II, articles 6, 7, 8, ]
Week 8: Immigrant Jewish Women and the Building of Communities
[Diner and Benderly: NEED PAGEs; Nadell, Part II, articles 5, 8]
Week 9: Learning and Learning to Be American Jewish Women
[Diner and Benderly; NEED PAGES; Yezierska, The Hungry Heart [film: “The Hungry Heart”]
Week 10: New Professional and Communal Opportunities for Jewish Women
Nadell, Part I, 4, 9, Part III, 12, 13
Week 11: Post-World War II, American Jewish Women and “The Feminine Mystique”
[Diner and Benderly, NEED PAGES] Nadell, Part IV, 15, 17 [Film: “Marjorie Morning Star”]
Week 12: Feminist Challenges
Diner, Benderly, [NEED PAGES] Nadell, Part Part III, 11, IV, 18. [Film: “Yentl”]
Week 13: Feminist Challenges
[Fishman]
Week 14: Twenty-First Century Profiles
Davidman
Class Projects and Assignments:
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Students will prepare a one page summary of each book which explores, if it is an historical monograph, the author’s central question, the sources used, and the conclusions. If the book is a primary source, students will explore—again in one page—how the document connects to the readings in either the Nadell anthology or in the Diner and Benderly book.
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Students will prepare a research paper of 5-7 pages. Students must clear the topic with the Teaching Assistant. Students are encouraged to turn to the website of the Jewish Women’s Archive for their primary material, although there are many other places to turn to. The paper must be based on original research.
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Students will be expected to see several films at Avery Fisher including “The Hungry Heart,” “Marjorie Morningstar,” and “Yentl”
They will prepare a one-page reaction paper to the film addressing the issue of how the film reflects the class material.
The course will take advantage of any museum exhibitions in New York as they develop.